I want to be a Writer! Any tips?

[TNViking]

Its no secret I haven't found my "niche" in nursing. After trying so many specialties, I've decided I want to exercise my passions by becoming a freelance writer. Writing is always something I've enjoyed.... I credit my writing to how I made it through my BSN. After doing so much research, I've found there is a whole community of Registered Nurses-turned-freelance writers. I plan to start off by creating a blog soon, but I struggle with narrowing down to exactly WHAT I will write about. Many of the nurse writers that I have found write specifically for a nursing audience; but what I would like to do is write for the general public. I want to use my nursing expertise to help empower the general lay person to make good, informed decisions regarding their healthcare. I want to help people to live fuller lives. I have a plan in place, but there is a part of me that is scared it will amount to nothing. What are your thoughts? Do you have any experiences to share?

[mtnNurse., BSN]

I highly recommend following your passion to write, so long as you don't need the money. If you do need a significant monthly income, I recommend working as few days / week needed for that so you can spend the rest of your time on your passion for writing. Or do travel nursing assignments part of the year to get your needed annual income, then be job-free to write the rest of the year. If you are one of the lucky few, maybe you can eventually earn a living writing...but you'd be lucky.

But life isn't about money. I mean, it is, but it shouldn't be. I hope you will follow your plan through even though you're scared it'll amount to nothing. It's better to try and fail than to never try at all. It could be a fun, eye-opening experience regardless of how it turns out. Life is short -- Go for it!

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Have you thought about writing for allnurses? At the bottom of the page is a link that says We Need Writers!

It's great exposure with a huge audience ?

[Lemon Bars]

I've done a little research into working as a writer and my understanding is that making money as a writer is tough. You're competing against anyone in the world who can type and I've heard that only the very best and most well known writers actually make money. Look for writing gigs online and you'll see that they don't pay much. Journalism is collapsing financially because everything is online for free. Artificially intelligent computers are writing articles now. The standard advice for writers is to not bother with it as a career, unless you are so internally driven to write that you cannot give it up even when you desperately try to quit. Even then, the advice is: Don't quit your day job. But if you want to start a blog and give health advice, I think that's a wonderful idea. Just don't count on it making money unless you are incredibly talented, insanely dedicated, and unbelievably lucky.